The Usuals Boys fuse a familiarly London-flavoured post-punk with Hank Marvin-esque guitar tones. New single ‘First Date’ arrived earlier this week and sees the quartet commentating on a disastrous rendezvous with an observational poise that harks back to Fake Tales of San Fransisco-era Alex Turner.
Hailing from multiple corners of Europe, Ethan, Aleksi, Patrick and Rasmus operate out of the creative hub of Berlin, where other artists including Parcels and Holly Herndon have chosen to relocate.
If you like ‘First Date’, then you should check out The Usual Boys’ cover of The Modern Lovers’ tune ‘Roadrunner‘: it’s a worthy rendition.
We’re big fans of your new track, ‘First Date’, was the song written with one specific date in mind?
It’s more an amalgamation of many tragic scenes we’ve seen on a night out. Sometimes you get these really coked up guys out on a date with someone who can’t get a word in. Other times you see these groups where all the loud guys are talking over the whole bar and the people they’re with just sit there silent. Can’t help but feel bad for their date.
‘First Date’, much like ‘Roadrunner’ takes more of a talk-singing/Sprechgesang approach than your earlier stuff, is this a sign of things to come from The Usual Boys?
Yeah we definitely got more stuff like this coming out soon in the autumn and next spring. I’d say that talk-singing style was something that came about when we were just starting to play together. It’s a lot easier to get the intention and tone across when you’re not having to worry about staying on pitch all the time. That being said; a lot of the new stuff we’ve been writing lately has been a lot more melodic.
The UK, Sweden and Finland are all represented within the band’s lineup, how did you all come together?
We all met 4 years ago when we moved here to try to make a life in this industry. We weren’t all that close from the get go but eventually we were united with our love of listening and making music as well as our inability to speak German.
In recent years, Berlin has garnered a reputation as a mecca for electronic music, how does the city’s rock scene look?
I would say there is a lot of untapped potential in Berlin. Berlin has a hugely diverse mix of people so there is a market for rock music, and the low rent means that Berlin has managed to hold on to a lot of great venues that might have found it tough to survive in parts of the UK. There are also a lot of great up and coming bands working together to build a scene. I think its definitely a space to watch.
What live shows do you have on the horizon? Is there any chance of catching you in the UK in the near future?
We are talking about organising some shows in the UK at the moment but as of yet nothing is finalised. The best thing to do is let your local booker/promoter know that you want to see us.
We’ve also got a slot at the Pilton Stage to compete for Glastonbury. We were supposed to come out to play near Bristol right when Covid first hit. It’s been postponed a couple times but fingers crossed they’ll be set for next year. Follow us on our socials and we’ll keep you updated.
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